Green in '18 Campaign

Elevating environmental issues for all candidates running for Governor of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Common Conservation Agenda

Pennsylvania has a pollution problem. Our forests and streams are second to none, yet 19,000 miles of our streams and rivers are unsafe for drinking, recreation, aquatic life, or agricultural use. Our urban areas are fast-growing, yet we have the third worst air quality in the country; as a result, in some Pennsylvania cities one in three children suffers from asthma.

But it doesn’t have to stay this way. The leading conservation organizations in the state, mobilized and led by PennFuture, have joined together to identify the most promising policy solutions to Pennsylvania’s environmental challenges. This coalition has developed the first-ever Pennsylvania Common Conservation Agenda, a blueprint for restoring and preserving our life-sustaining natural resources.

To see to it that this blueprint is enacted, PennFuture and its partners are launching Green In ’18, a nonpartisan, grassroots campaign designed to engage citizens in environmental activism like never before. With a pivotal gubernatorial election taking place this fall, citizen action is the best way to make sure environmental issues are a top priority for the candidates running to be Pennsylvania’s next governor. In Pennsylvania, the governor has the power to implement this agenda using his or her executive authority. The Pennsylvania Constitution states that the Commonwealth, as the trustee of the state’s natural resources, is responsible for conserving and maintaining them for the benefit of all the people.

While some of the solutions we propose involve additional state spending, in virtually every instance, the increase in spending will be offset through job growth, revenue growth, energy savings, and/or lower healthcare costs. The actions called for in this agenda create jobs, stimulate investment in the business sector, and spur the formation of new businesses. The solutions in the Pennsylvania Common Conservation Agenda and the Green in ‘18 campaign work hand in hand, promoting a cleaner, healthier environment and a growing, healthier economy for Pennsylvanians.

We Need YOU to Get Involved!

The impetus for creating the Agenda now is the upcoming Pennsylvania gubernatorial election; it represents an opportune time to push for changes in the state’s priorities and policies for safeguarding the environment. During the 2018 election cycle, our coalition will be taking this agenda to the candidates for governor across the political spectrum and urging each one to enact our recommendations.

But it’s going to take more than our efforts alone to produce results. It’s going to require a groundswell of support from Pennsylvania citizens like you, speaking out on this crucial issue. That’s why we’re backing the Agenda with the Green In ’18 campaign. This will entail reaching out to Pennsylvanians across the state to increase their sense of urgency about the environmental problems facing us, letting them know about the Agenda’s game-changing solutions, and motivating them to meet the gubernatorial candidates on the campaign trail and speak out.

By building an army of volunteers across the state, committed to rising up for the environment and the Common Conservation Agenda, we believe our cause will prevail. Can we count on you to participate in Green in ’18 and help us carry our message directly to the candidates running for governor? Click here to sign up.